Calories on Menus Do Little to Change Eating Habits

Have you noticed that most restaurants and Fast Food establishments are now posting calories on their menus?   A government mandate of calorie labeling in fast food and other chain restaurants became effective May 2018.  Any restaurant or food outlet with 20 or more locations has to post calorie counts of menu items.  The calorie labeling of menu items was supposed to help us choose menu items more wisely.  So, is it working?  Are people choosing what to eat based on the calories posted?  Recently in Costco, my husband and I were looking at the menu and the appetizing pictures of the Italian Sausage Sandwich vs the Hot Turkey and Provolone Sandwich.  One would think the sausage would have the most calories but not so.  The Hot Turkey & Provolone Sandwich was labeled a whopping 740 calories vs. 610 calories for the Italian Sausage Sandwich.  

Costco Posts Menu and Calories

Does it work?  Do people cut back on calories when each menu item shows how many calories the sandwich, the fries, each item has?  One would think so.  A study in the British Medical Journal (BMJ)  looked at how well posting calories on menu items in Fast Food chains led customers to eating less calories.   But, according to the BMJ study, at first some people did cut back on the calories in foods they purchased once the mandatory labeling occurred but a year later, not so much.  Recently, the NBC news channel interviewed people to ask them if they even noticed the calories posted by menu items.  One lady responded, she never noticed.  Luckily, there was a very fit-looking man that says he pays attention to the posted calories and uses the information to make healthier choices.    

Review the calories to make healthier choices when eating out

After studying purchases of main entrees, sides, sugar-sweetened beverages (e.g. sodas, sweet tea), low calorie beverages and condiments customers ordered over a three-year period (before and after the mandatory labeling), what were their findings?  At first, calories on menus did lead to a decrease of about “60 calories per transaction”.   People chose to cut back on the fries and desserts.  There was a reduction in calories but only an overall reduction of 4% of total calories in the food purchased.  But by the end of the study period, they found customers reduced calories by only 23 fewer calories per purchase.  Studies have found that when we eat out, we eat more calories as many restaurant meals provide larger servings and more calories than we would eat at home.    

Now other countries like the United Kingdom are wondering if they even should adopt our government mandate of having calories posted on menus.  The authors of the study do claim that even small reductions in calorie intakes can be helpful and the calories on menus may help in the fight against obesity.

Why doesn't the posting of calories have more of an impact?  One reason is that many people have no idea how many calories they should be eating each day.  They don't know if a 740 calorie Hot Turkey and Provolone Sandwich is a lot of calories.  The Dietary Guidelines estimate that adult women's calorie needs range from 1,600-2400 a day and adult men need 2,000-3,000 calories a day.  Calorie needs per day vary depending on how active you are.  Knowing this, an adult woman needing 1,600 calories a day would realize that a 740- calorie sandwich plus a soda and dessert would be almost about all the calories she needs for the day, yet it was only for one meal.  My husband noted that many people also don't know how low in calories fruits and vegetables are.  A medium apple has only about 80 calories vs. 230 calories for small fries at a fast food chain.  (To look up calories in food a good source to use is nutritiondata.)

Being a nutritionist, I can’t help but notice the posted calories and do take the information into consideration when making a food purchase.  But, many people don’t.  How about you?  Do you notice and use the posted calorie information?  Has the calorie information influenced what you order when eating out?

FDA recommends:  Know Your Options When Eating Out

Sources:   mandate, cut,  study, Studies, Guidelines , apple  , fries,  nutritiondata    Image sources:  Costco , Menu, FDA